


His Only Choice

by WayWardWonderer



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Death, Desperation, Experiment, F/M, Gen, Revived, Sacrifice, life - Freeform, risk, saved - Freeform, test
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 06:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13992462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer
Summary: Tired of having the Hulk in his life Bruce Banner convinces Tony Stark to help him find a cure once and for all. The cost of the cure may prove too much for Bruce's body to bear. Choosing between life and death, normal and Hulk, is beginning to wear Banner's psyche down to nothingness.*(post 'Winter Soldier' pre 'Age of Ultron')





	His Only Choice

It was late into the calm night.  Seemingly only two people were still awake in the depths of 'Avenger Tower' in the heart of New York City. A single light shone out across the city like a lone star in the perpetually black sky from the middle of the towering structure. Inside the secluded, secured lab two of the Avengers were working together on a secret project known only to them, and no one else.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Banner?" Tony Stark asked as he checked over the projected statistics on J.A.R.V.I.S.'s display screen.  "I mean, seriously, you're SURE?"

"Yes. I am." Bruce Banner, though nervous was desperate for success and eager to get started. He removed his blue dress shirt, the white t-shirt beneath and his glasses as he laid down on the medical exam table in the center his private lab. "I have no other choice."

"Sure you do." Tony remarked as he rolled a cardiac monitor and small metal table toward the exam table.  He flipped on the monitor and checked the power levels as he tried to ease his worried friend's mind. "You and the 'Other Guy' could learn to live together via Felix and Oscar style.  If you and I can get along then surely you and the Hulk can learn to play well."

"Tony, I can't _live_ like this anymore." Bruce stated firmly as he took the leads from the cardiac monitor and attached said leads to his bare chest. "I can't get close to anyone without risking their lives. I can't _let_ anyone get close to me because some government bounty hunter might be closing in. Hell, I can't even trust _myself_ to handle the simplest of tasks without chancing the 'Other Guy' crashing the party from stress or frustration."

"This may come off as hypocritical since I'm the one saying it, but... don't you think this 'all or nothing' cure is a little short sighted if not all out crazy?  No offense, but this does seem a little drastic."

"Maybe." Bruce admitted as he turned on the cardiac monitor and watched his steady heart rate appear on the display. "But like I said, I have no choice. For me it _is_ all or nothing."

"Okay.  I'll respect your decision." Tony still didn't approve but he wasn't going to try to change Bruce's mind, he already made his choice. "J.A.R.V.I.S. give me a display of Banner's vitals."

 _'Will do, sir._ ' The A.I. promptly put a highly detailed read out on all of Bruce's vital signs on a large computer screen mounted on the far wall of the lab.

Tony glanced at the screen and used his rudimentary knowledge of medicine to give his assessment. "Everything looks normal. Then again, I'm not a doctor. I haven't even played one on TV!  Yet..."

Bruce looked at the screen too as he laughed at Tony's joke. "Yeah, it's all normal." Bruce then proceeded to insert an I.V. into his left arm and adjusted the drip on the saline attached to the line.  Hanging the bag of saline up to the rolling cart he taped the line down against the skin on his forearm and sighed warily. "Okay, this should work."

Tony picked up the vial containing the potential cure and a sterilized syringe. "You know, all of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s readings on this supposed miracle cure of yours have been inconclusive? And J.A.R.V.I.S. has _always_ been conclusive."

"I know the risks."  Bruce closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.  "Look, Tony, if you don't want to be here-"

"No. That's not it. I just don't want to be here if you die. You're one of the very few people that I actually like.  I don't want to see another friend... die."

Bruce laughed a little in response. "Is that supposed to be an honor?"

"Well, considering all the enemies I've made and will surely continue to make... I have no idea."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Bruce laid as flat on the table as he could and paced his breathing as he mentally steeled himself for the impending procedure. "I'm ready."

Tony reluctantly inserted the syringe into the unlabeled vial and gauged the (hypothetical) proper dose. After sterilizing the I.V. line with a small alcohol swab Tony inserted the needle of the syringe into the established I.V. line and injected the enigmatic elixir into Bruce's blood stream.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., talk to me."  Tony instructed as he steadily pushed the concoction through the line.

 _'All vitals appear normal. The injection has successfully entered the circulatory system and the medication is beginning to bind with the affected red blood cells._ '

"Keep me posted." Tony order J.A.R.V.I.S. as he patted Bruce's shoulder. "Feel anything?"

"Not really, but I do feel a little tired."

"Tired as in sleepy or tired as in sick?"

"Uh, both?" Bruce didn't understand the question. His eyes slowly closed and his breathing became deeper, slower.  "I just... feel...  different..."

"Banner?" Tony patted Bruce's face once.  After receiving no response he patted his face a second time and more forcefully  "Banner? Bruce, can you hear me?"

Bruce tried to open his eyes but he didn't have the strength.  What little consciousness and self awareness he had retained as the drug took effect quickly faded as his body submitted to the foreign serum now coursing through his veins.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., what's going on?"  Tony pressed his fingers to the side of Bruce's neck and felt the weakening pulse beneath his fingertips.

 _'His blood pressure has dropped substantially and his heart rate has declined_.'  J.A.R.V.I.S. replied accurately.

"What's the cause?"

' _Unknown_.'

"Terrific." Tony was staring at the computer display when the cardiac monitor sent off alarms and he heard Bruce's body suddenly go rigid as he knocked over the nearby table, sending the vial and used syringe crashing to the floor.  Glass shattered and metal clattered violently creating an unsettling echo throughout the lab. "Bruce!"

Tony was at Bruce's side and trying to hold the seizing man down on the bed by his shoulders. "J.A.R.V.I.S.?!  Talk to me!"

 _'He's having a seizure_.'

"I know that! How do I stop it?"  Tony was getting angry at the entire situation.  A lack of control was something he could never come to terms with, especially when someone he cared about was in grave danger.

 _'There's a vial containing-'_ The cardiac monitor let out an all too distinct and frightening sound of a stopped heart: flat line.  Bruce's heart had given out during the seizure. _'He is in full cardiac arrest_.'

"Shit!" Tony placed his fingers against Bruce's neck once more to double check what the display and cardiac monitor had already told him. "He's not breathing!" Tony interlaced one hand with the other before pressing both down onto Bruce's chest and began compressions in attempt to get the downed scientist's heart beating again. "C'mon! Don't do this, BREATHE.  Breathe!"

 _'Sir, someone is approaching the lab_.'

"Don't care! Busy!" Tony commented aggressively as he continued CPR.  He was already beginning to sweat from the physical exertion it took to keep proper pressure and rhythm to manually force Bruce's heart to beat. "Lock the door!"

 _'My security protocols have been overwritten_.'

The door to the lab opened and in walked Agent Natasha Romanov who was clearly disturbed by the commotion taking place in the lab. "Stark? What the hell's going on?"

"Agent Romanov! Perfect timing." Tony looked over his shoulder to the newly arrived S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as he continued compressing Bruce's chest. "We need the kiss of life and your lips are poutier than mine!"

Natasha made her way over to the exam table and looked at Bruce.  Her eyes went wide with fear as her unspoken affection for the scientist made her own heart jump "What were you guys doing in here?!" She pinched Bruce's nose and delivered two breaths instinctively to aid Tony as the duo worked together to try and save Bruce's life.

"Making a cake!" Tony lied dryly as he huffed tiredly while continuing compressions. "The oven confused us."

Natasha pressed her fingers against Bruce's neck. "Still nothing." She looked around the room and spied the knocked over metal table and the assorted vials laying on the floor next to it. "Hold on."

"Where are you going?" Tony didn't want to be alone and he was getting more and more tired. "I'm losing strength here!"

"Just a second." Natasha quickly knelt on the floor by Tony's feet as she checked over the vial labels and selected one. "Got it." Loading a new, untouched syringe Natasha stood up over Bruce and gave Tony a stern look. "Move your hands."

"I am!"

"OFF of him."

"Whatever you're going to do, make it count!" Tony pulled his hands off is dying friend's chest and panted as he tried to catch his own breath.  Using the back of his hand he wiped beaded sweat from his forehead and watched intently as Natasha took the lead.

Natasha plunged the syringe into Bruce's chest, into his stilled heart, and she injected the medication directly into Bruce's heart.  She watched the cardiac monitor carefully, patiently. A small 'beep' told the two shaken impromptu medics that Bruce's heart was finally beating again.  Slowly. Her fingers returned to his neck and relaxed. "He's back."

Tony let out a sigh of relief. "What'd you do?"

"You're not the only one who knows their way around a kitchen."  Natasha responded quickly.

J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted. _'Dr. Banner's vital signs are returning to normal. The initial injection has already begun its metabolic breakdown_.'

Natasha crossed her arms and looked at Tony bitterly. "What injection?  Exactly what was it you two were doing down here?  What did you give him?"

"Cake batter..." Tony lied again, but far more pathetically. "Maybe I should leave you two alone so Bruce can explain. You know, once he wakes up..."

Awkwardly Tony backed out of the lab leaving Natasha and Bruce alone in the messy lab.  The skilled spy harbored a heart of gold and had hoped that Bruce would be the one to take her golden heart and keep it for himself.

Picking up Bruce's hand she held tightly and watched his expressionless face as he remained unconscious on the table.

"Talk to me Bruce.  What's going on inside of you?"

_**-The End** _


End file.
